Nearly two years after it was approved by the Norman City Council, the public got to see for themselves just what the Porter Avenue corridor could look like if plans and designs developed for the city are carried out.
The city hosted an open house Wednesday inside City Hall to show off four streetscape designs it paid a consultant about $90,000 to develop.
Susan Atkinson, the city's project manager, said unveiling the designs to the public was an important step in the process of carrying out the Porter Avenue corridor plan.
"The purpose of having this event is to let the public and city leaders see what's going on," Atkinson said. "You have to take a project as complicated as this in small bites.
"Today is a day to take one of those bites ... it's just a chance for people to see what's possible."
Those in attendance had mixed views of the presentation and what it would mean if plans to revitalize the Porter Avenue corridor are realized.
Business owner John Lungren, who owns property near the corridor, said he thinks the revitalization will do wonders for Porter Avenue and the downtown area.
"I think it'll help bring more people downtown," Lungren said. "And that's the goal of doing something like this."
Kendel Posey, who owns a house on South Peters Avenue near the project area, said he's concerned about the city's plans for Porter Avenue on a number of fronts. He said he's concerned about possible traffic circles, mixed-use areas and the "lack of bicycle access."
Posey seemed especially opposed to narrowing Porter Avenue to three lanes, as Atkinson proposed during Wednesday's open house.
He expressed concern that "it would back up traffic in the area and that's the last thing we need. It's a nice concept, but I'm not sure it's going to work.
"Acheiving the dream is never easy," he said.
Lungren was in favor of narrowing the lanes even further, down to two lanes.
"It kind of slows traffic," he said. "More people will come downtown if they feel like it's a safe place to walk around, and switching to two lanes would definitely make things slower."
The Norman City Council also is doing its part to move the project along, Atkinson said. She said the city is developing two "regulatory pieces" to help make the plan into reality.
The first is the creation of a zoning overlay district, Atkinson said, which will serve as a "regulatory piece of property the city could decide to dedicate to the corridor" if necessary. She said the other regulation will cover basic design parameters, like having windows on the ground floor to make businesses appealing to foot traffic.
"You've got to have regulatory tools when you're doing projects like this," Atkinson said. "You have to have a little way to control it."
She said the council also is talking about creating a mixed-use section of the corridor, which "probably [would] make a lot of sense for this project."
Last week, Finance Director Anthony Francisco said consultant fees related to the Porter Avenue project may be cut back to save money amid persistent revenue shortfalls.
Atkinson said she hasn't been told anything by Francisco, as far as whether cuts to her project will be made, but didn't rule anything out, either.
"Certainly, that's something that could happen," she said.
So far, the project has cost the city about $180,000 in consultant fees, Atkinson said. She said the long-term cost still is undetermined and the city hasn't determined how it will pay for the work.
"Beyond that, we haven't decided anything," Atkinson said. "We can't even put a price tag on it because we don't even know what exactly the work is yet."
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
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City reveals Porter Avenue design plans
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